Start Thinking About Your Garden In February

The bulbs are already starting to come up, spearing the ground with signs of the next season. These are my reminder that the beds need clearing but where new life is coming up, it is time to make a start.

Waste material from flower beds need to be gathered up and put on the compost heap. The beds are raked clean in readiness for spring mulching and to make way for the bulbs.

Weeds become visible with the clear-up, so take your time to winkle out buttercup, nettle and couch.

If you have not ordered your seed yet, do so now to avoid disappointment; and then grade it accordingly, to create a sowing calendar through spring.

Though it is early, it is time to start off the slower-growing half-hardy annuals and perennials. Pelargonium and begonia are easy from seed if you have a warm windowsill or a heated corner in a glasshouse. Some seed takes two to three weeks to germinate, by which time it will nearly be March and the light levels will be improving.

There is no point in sowing fast-growing tomatoes too early.

If you have glass, a frame, cloches or a glasshouse, now is a good time to clean them in readiness for the growing season. Warm, soapy water is as good as Jeyes Fluid and doesn't smell half as clinical.

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